Category Archives: Uncategorized

On 30 March 2017 the new National Army Museum opens with an exciting new events programme. Over April and May visitors are able to enjoy free themed tours and talks and attend debates on Brexit and the army and art and the British Army. The Easter holiday and spring half term also provide opportunities for children to join in the fun from a robotics challenge to making their own comic. Whatever your interest or age there is something for you to enjoy this Spring at the new National Army Museum.

Highlights

Women soldiers tour

1 April and 6 May, 2.30pm

Free

The first Saturday of each month for a 30-minute guided tour of the galleries exploring 100 years of women in the army. In 1917 the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps was founded. This was the first time women could join the army outside of nursing roles. Since then there have been a number of developments for women in the army, culminating in last year’s lifting of the ban on women in combat roles.

Robotics Easter Challenge

1 – 17 April, sessions at 10.30am, 11.30am, 1.15pm, 2.15pm and 3.15pm

Free

Can you master our robotic arms ? Discover how the army uses technology with our robotics challenge. Can you master the robotic arms to complete missions?

Mission 2: Level up and try using a spoon with your robotic arm to fill the basket. It’s harder than it sounds!

Mission 3: Can you create an ‘eggcellent’ piece of art with your robotic arm? Manoeuvre your arm using pens and stamps. You might just end up on the wall of fame!

Book early to guarantee a space.

Too proud to fight

7 April, 11.30am

Free

A century on from America’s entry into the First World War, Dr Graham Cross explores how we look back on that pivotal decision. The United States of America entered the First World War on 6 April 1917. While British narratives recognise the American contribution, they often also focus on the lateness of entry and the ‘Associate’ status of American belligerence. Graham will discuss the factors that drove the American intervention. He will also examine how British hopes and expectations, both at the time and since, colour our understanding of America’s involvement in the conflict.

Dr Graham Cross is a lecturer in American History at Manchester Metropolitan University.

The Gaza stalemate and Beersheba breakthrough

14 April, 11.30am

Free

Robert Fleming explores the events and impact of the British Army’s campaigns in the Middle East during the First World War. The Gallipoli campaign of 1915 failed to knock the Ottoman Empire out of the First World War. The result for the British Army was a long and bloody struggle through Sinai, Palestine and Syria that would help determine the fate of the Middle East for years to come.

Robert Fleming is the Templer Study Centre Manager at the National Army Museum.

Love and attraction in propaganda

21 April, 11.30am

Free

Professor Jo Fox explores how love and sexual attraction were used to mobilise the nation during the World Wars. Using examples from newspapers, postcards, posters, songs and films, Jo will demonstrate how the promise of love, sex and romance was used to encourage enlistment during the First and Second World Wars.

Jo Fox is a professor of Modern British and European History at the University of Durham.

War artists and the press

28 April, 11.30am

Free

Emma Mawdsley looks at artists’ depiction of war in the press of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Art has always been a tool for reporting news. But in the age before photography, artists provided the only images of war zones. In the 19th century, as the thirst for authentic images of conflict grew, newspapers sent artists to accompany troops to war. The images didn’t merely complement the written words, they formed the substance of reporting.

Emma Mawdsley is a Senior Research Curator at the National Army Museum and curator of the War Paint exhibition.

African women in the First World War

5 May, 11.30am

Free

Join Dr Anne Samson and discover the different roles African women have played during war. From camp followers and labourers to spies and snipers, African women of all ethnicities, ages and creeds have played a significant, albeit hidden, role in war. Using the First World War as a hook, Dr Anne Samson will explore the different roles women played in the conduct of war in Africa in the early 20th century. Dr Anne Samson is an author and historian specialising in Africa and the First World War.

A history of army nursing: 1854-1918

12 May, 11.30am

Free

To mark International Nurses Day Professor Christine Hallett traces the history of army nursing from the Crimean War until the end of the First World War. Starting with Florence Nightingale’s initial efforts in the Crimean War, she will continue through to the creation of nursing services during the Boer War and the First World War. She will also draw comparisons with similar nursing services in the US military and the Commonwealth, as well as the emergence of the largely voluntary Red Cross.

Christine Hallett is Professor of Nursing History at The University of Manchester.

Exploring the Women’s Royal Army Corps collection

19 May, 11.30am

Free

Dr Alastair Massie shares fascinating stories from the Women’s Royal Army Corps (WRAC) collection. On 1 February 1949 the WRAC was founded, allowing women to serve in a wide range of army roles. After the WRAC disbanded in 1992, the National Army Museum took over its collection. Join Alastair as he draws on official documentation, photographs and other personal items to share fascinating stories from the archive.

Dr Alastair Massie is the Head of Academic Access at the National Army Museum.

Discover the Ministry of Women graphic novel and have a go at making your own comic. To mark 100 years since the formation of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, the National Army Museum has created a graphic novel, Ministry of Women, featuring the stories of women who have served in the army. Join our hands-on workshop where you can learn how to draw one of the graphic novel’s characters – army code breaker Betty – explore the objects used to inspire the novel, and make your own code! There will be five 45-minute sessions every day during the May half-term. Book early to guarantee a space.

If you would like further information or book tickets, visit the National Army Museum website here

London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
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­This theatrical concert is inspired by the figure of Prometheus, who dared to steal fire from the gods.

Featuring soloist Marcus Farnsworth, this eclectic selection of music charts a course from the Greek myth which inspired Beethoven to the ‘modern Prometheus’ of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, whose shadow looms large over HK Gruber’s surreal masterpiece.

By turns ravishing, fearsome, funny and sharply satirical, Frankenstein!! offers an unusual partner to Beethoven’s monumental fifth symphony , presented here by Aurora in a memorised performance. No matter how often you’ve heard the work in concert previously, this direct, communicative treatment promises a fresh experience of the composer’s best-known work.

Programme

Ludwig Van Beethoven: Excerpts from The Creatures of Prometheus

H.K. Gruber: Frankenstein!!

Ludwig Van Beethoven: Symphony No.5

Performers

Aurora Orchestra

Nicholas Collon conductor

Marcus Farnsworth baritone

If you would like further information or book tickets, visit the Southbank website here

London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here

The Victoria and Albert Museum present a major new exhibition which explores the variety of ways artists and designers from the Pre-Raphaelites to the present have responded to the artistic legacy of Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510), assembling 150 works from around the world. Although, Botticelli is now recognised as one of the greatest artists, the exhibition reminds us that he was largely forgotten for more than 300 years until his work was ‘rediscovered’ in the 19th century.

Botticelli Reimagined is the largest Botticelli exhibition in Britain since 1930 and includes painting, fashion, film, drawing, photography, tapestry, sculpture and print. There are over 50 original works by Botticelli, alongside works by artists such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris, René Magritte, Elsa Schiaparelli, Andy Warhol and Cindy Sherman.

The exhibition begins with a screen showing excerpts from Dr No showing Ursula Andress emerging from the sea clasping a conch shell and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen in which Uma Thurman re-enacts The Birth of Venus.

The first main section entitled Global, Modern, Contemporary illustrates how artists have taken aspects of Botticelli’s imagery and incorporated them into their own works. Botticelli’s most famous work , The Birth of Venus which depicts the naked Venus emerging from a shell on the seashore is referenced by Andy Warhol’s Details of Renaissance , Yin Xin’s Venus After Botticelli , David LaChapelle’s Rebirth of Venus and a dress and trouser suit of patchwork panels from The Birth of Venus from Dolce & Gabbana’s 1993 collection. Botticelli’s influence is more widely considered by Bill Viola’s Going forth by Day and 5th surgery performance – Operation opera by ORLAN, This section also includes work by Tamara de Lempicka, Robert Rauschenberg, René Magritte and Maurice Denis.

Rediscovery considers the impact of Botticelli’s art on the Pre-Raphaelite circle during the mid-19th century. Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Ruskin and Edward Burne-Jones all owned and were greatly influenced by Botticelli’s work. In this section a series of portraits by Burne – Jones and Rossetti, mostly featuring Jane Morris gives some insight into the way that the Pre-Raphaelites looked to the past for inspiration.

Botticelli’s celebrated work, Primavera influences William Morris’ The Orchard and Evelyn De Morgan’s Flora. In this room are a couple of copies of The Birth of Venus by Edgar Degas and Gustave Moreau as well as Etienne Azambre’s Two Women copying Botticelli’s fresco of Venus and the Graces.

Moving back in time, the final section of the exhibition arrives at Botticelli in his Own Time. A series of works by Botticelli show that he was not only a wonderfully skilled artist but also ran a highly successful workshop which produced a large number of important works. Exhibits include his only signed and dated painting The Mystic Nativity , three portraits supposedly of the legendary beauty Simonetta Vespucci, and the remarkable Pallas and the Centaur, travelling to London for the first time.

A small number of portraits of the elite of Renaissance Florence gives some context to the artist’s life and times before the show closes with two full-length paintings of Venus, reprising the heroine of The Birth of Venus, and the V&A’s Portrait of a Lady known as Smeralda Bandinelli which formerly owned by Rossetti.

It is remarkable how some artists can produce work that remains influential over the centuries, This exhibition provides plenty of evidence that Botticelli is one of these artists. Whether it is through his influence on the Pre-Raphaelites or the way the iconic works such as the Birth of Venus has been endlessly reinterpreted in the late 20th especially. Although there is a running theme through the exhibition, in many ways it feels like three mini exhibitions in one. Due to the variety on display, the exhibition will have quite a wide appeal, each section has its own attractions and delights in an ambitious and interesting show.

London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide.com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here

The Imagine Children’s Festival returns to the Southbank Centre with a packed programme to entertain the children during half term.

One of the highlights of the festival is the celebrations marking the centenary of Roald Dahl’s birth, these include The Wondercrump World of Roald Dahl and Dahl’s last epic story The Minpins with live orchestral accompaniment.

Children’s books are featured with the opportunity to meet authors and illustrators, such as Judith Kerr, Laura Dockrill , Candy Gourlay and Holly Smale.

There are a large number of free events and workshops to keep children of all ages entertained, including Bedtime Stories with famous faces, jazz for little ones at Groove Baby, gamelan gongs at Dragon Babies and much more.

Every day from 10.30am to 4pm, enjoy the best children’s theatre, literature and music, with plenty of workshops and free activities for children up to 12 years old.

If you would like further information, visit the Southbank Centre website here

London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London. Since our launch in 2014 , we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated. We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more. There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog. To find out more visit the website here

The Wapping Hydraulic Power Station is the location for an exhibition by one of America’s leading photographers with the opening of Annie Leibovitz’s WOMEN: New Portraits exhibition.

‘WOMEN: New Portraits’ a global tour of new photographs by Annie Leibovitz launches in London. Commissioned by UBS, the exhibition opens to the public on 16 January at Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, kicking off a 10-city world-wide tour. Access to the exhibition will be free. Photo by Stephen White, courtesy of UBS.

Wapping is known for its maritime connections and Wapping Hydraulic Power Station is an important relic of London’s industrial past which attracted the photographer, Leibovitz said: “It was so exciting to find Wapping Station here – we were looking for places that were unusual.”

‘WOMEN: New Portraits’ a global tour of new photographs by Annie Leibovitz launches in London. Commissioned by UBS, the exhibition opens to the public on 16 January at Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, kicking off a 10-city world-wide tour. Access to the exhibition will be free. Photo by Stephen White, courtesy of UBS.

Women: New Portraits includes photographs of the likes of Amy Winehouse, Michelle Obama, Adele, Taylor Swift, Jane Goodall, Sheryl Sandberg, Cindy Sherman, Caitlyn Jenner, Amy Schumer and Aung San Suu Kyi and is a collection that focuses on “women of outstanding achievement” and is a continuation of Women, a project that Annie Leibovitz began over 15 years ago in collaboration with writer Susan Sontag.

‘WOMEN: New Portraits’ a global tour of new photographs by Annie Leibovitz launches in London. Commissioned by UBS, the exhibition opens to the public on 16 January at Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, kicking off a 10-city world-wide tour. Access to the exhibition will be free. Photo by Stephen White, courtesy of UBS.

The exhibition features new photographs and work from the original series, as well as other unpublished photographs. In collaboration with UBS , a series of free learning programmes will accompany the exhibition which will explore ways of seeing through photography and working with young people in local schools and communities.

Annie Leibovitz began her career as a photojournalist for Rolling Stone in 1970 and in the past four decades as built up a great reputation based on a series of well-known portraits for Vanity Fair, Vogue and numerous other publications. Famous portraits include John Lennon and Yoko Ono just before he was killed, Demi Moore, Queen Elizabeth II, Sting, Lady Gaga and more recently Caitlyn Jenner.

A walk around the exhibition allows you to appreciate the wide and diverse range of work and styles of one of the best known photographers in the world. The run down industrial setting with large screens provide an interesting backdrop to the exhibition and offers plenty of incentive to make the trip into London Docklands. The exhibition is free and will run from January 16th to February 7th 2016.

Annie Leibovitz’s new photographs, which have been commissioned by UBS, will be shown in 10 cities over the next 12 months. The tour starts in London before moving to Tokyo, San Francisco, Singapore, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Istanbul, Frankfurt, New York and Zurich.

Visitor Information

January 16th – February 7th 2016

Admission to the exhibition is free

Exhibition opening hours:

Monday – Thursday: 10am – 6pm

Friday: 10am – 8pm

Saturday – Sunday: 10am – 6pm

Address:

Wapping Hydraulic Power Station,

Wapping Wall,

London E1W 3SL:

Visiting London Guide Rating – Highly Recommended

If you would like further information about the exhibition, visit the UBS website here

London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014 , we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
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Benedict Cumberbatch takes on the title role in Shakespeare’s great tragedy. Directed by Lyndsey Turner (Posh, Chimerica) and produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, the Barbican presents an exclusive twelve-week run of this anticipated new production in summer 2015.

As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father’s death but paralysed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state.

The Barbican has sold its current allocation of advance tickets, however small numbers of tickets may be returned or released for advance sale online. There are also 30 £10 tickets available as day-seats for sale each day in person. Up to two tickets per person, sold at the advance ticket desk from 10.30am; the Barbican Centre will open from 9am. Returned and late-release tickets may occasionally become available at the last minute on the day of the performance

If you would like further information or book tickets, visit the Barbican website here

London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and the latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here

Before setting out for the Trojan War, King Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia. Many years later, when Agamemnon returns to his palace, his adulterous Queen Clytemnestra takes her revenge by brutally murdering him and installing her lover on the throne. How will the gods judge Orestes, their estranged son, who must avenge his father’s death by murdering his mother?

The curse of the House of Atreus, passing from generation to generation, is one of the great myths of Western literature. In the hands of Aeschylus, the story enacts the final victory of reason and justice over superstition and barbarity. The original trilogy will be distilled into one thrilling three-act play.

Creatives

Directed by
Adele Thomas

Adapted by
Rory Mullarkey

From the original by
Aeschylus

Designed by
Hannah Clark

Composed by
Mira Calix

Cast

Naana Agyei-Ampadu
Cassandra

Trevor Fox
Aegisthus

Dennis Herdman
Chorus

Rosie Hilal
Electra

George Irving
Agamemnon / Apollo

Branka Katic
Athena

James Lailey
Chorus

Joel MacCormack
Orestes

Petra Massey
Chorus

Dean Nolan
Chorus

Brendan O’Hea
Chorus

Paul Rider
Chorus

Katy Stephens
Clytemnestra

Dickon Tyrrell
Chorus

Tickets
£5 standing
£17 – £43 seats

If you would like further information or book tickets, visit the Shakespeare’s Globe website here

London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and the latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here